


EnCompass

by error127pagenotfound



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:47:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24941818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/error127pagenotfound/pseuds/error127pagenotfound
Summary: Yuta's sister sat down next to him. “Last year, when I turned twenty four, I went to go find whoever was on the other side of my string.”He looked down at his wrist, where a red cord was tied around it. It stretched out for a few inches, then faded into nothingness. At the other end of the string, somewhere in the world, was his soulmate.Ever since he was young, the string always pointed in the same place, never moving, even when he travelled through cities. Whoever was at the other end was very, very far, probably in another country.“You’re turning twenty four now,” she continued. He looked up at her, realizing what she was implying.She opened the box to reveal what looked like an ancient looking bronze disk. She offered the box to him.“Mom gave it to me when I left last year. She used it to find our father, and before that it was used by her mother, and her grandmother. Now it’s yours. I don’t think your destiny is very interested in finding you,” she said. “So go out there and find her.”
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 17
Kudos: 84





	1. Rusted Copper

**Author's Note:**

> hello  
> im back  
> enjoy the read

His sister was getting hard to ignore.

Yuta lowered his arm from his eyes and squinted up at her, standing next to his bed.

“Yeah?” he asked, but not rudely. He had a lot of respect for his sister, even though she was only a year older than him.

“It’s your birthday,” she said quietly. “I have a present for you.”

As he moved aside to make room for her to sit, he noticed a small box in her hand. Curious, he sat up.

She settled down next to him. “Last year, when I turned twenty four, I went to go find whoever was on the other side of my string.”

He looked down at his wrist, where a red cord was tied around it. It stretched out for a few inches, then faded into nothingness. At the other end of the string, somewhere in the world, was his soulmate.

The string always pointed to where the soulmate was. Whenever Yuta lay in bed, his string pointed toward his window, out over the Osaka skyline.

Ever since he was young, the string always pointed in the same place, never moving, even when he travelled through cities. Whoever was at the other end was very, very far, probably in another country.

He nodded silently, twirling the string around his finger. He remembered when she had left, demanding that she find destiny before destiny found her. She had come back with a glowing smile and a partner from the northern cities of Japan.

“You’re turning twenty four now,” she continued. He looked up at her, realizing what she was implying.

She opened the box to reveal what looked like an ancient looking bronze disk. She offered the box to him.

He took the disk out, handling it delicately. It was rusted, interwoven shades of turquoise and bronze. It was also a lot thicker and heavier than it looked, but fit nicely in his palm.

There was a latch on the side. He tugged at it lightly, and it opened to reveal a compass.

“Mom gave it to me when I left last year. She used it to find our father, and before that it was used by her mother, and her grandmother. Now it’s yours.”

He held up his wrist and the compass side by side. Southwest, a little more inclined towards the South.

“I don’t think your destiny is very interested in finding you,” she said. “So go out there and find her.”

“But where do I go?”

“Southwest!”

“Where Southwest?” he demanded. “There’s so many countries-”

“That’s for destiny to know and you to find out.” She got up.

“Enough with the destiny already.”

She left, leaving Yuta to sit there with the rug pulled out from under his feet.

_Where will I go?_

Yuta pored over the map, examining it carefully. He glanced at the numbers on his notebook, then placed the ruler on the map, tracing a straight line down East Asia.

Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand...

He looked at the notebook again, then the open compass lying next to him, then back at the map. His figure was casting a sharp shadow from the lamplight. Daylight was dying, and most of the library was empty.

He readjusted the ruler and found that it brushed the edge of China. He gazed at it for a while, wondering whether or not to go there as well.

_I don’t want to go there and find the string still pointing South._

But he went to the shelf and retrieved a map of China.

“I'm going on an adventure,” he said in Korean into his phone as he folded a pair of jeans.

The voice on the other end of the line hummed softly in interest. “What kind of adventure?”

“I’m going to go find destiny, as my sister likes to say.”

He was talking to one of his closest and furthest friends, a boy who called himself Winwin. They’d met each other on an online pen-pal system, and they’d both found a strong friendship with each other.

Winwin was picky about sharing information with strangers on the internet, and even though Yuta had shown his own image to Winwin, even though they knew each other for a year, he still didn’t know what Winwin looked like. He didn’t know his real name or where he lived. He suspected that Winwin just liked keeping an air of mystery around himself, but that was fine.

At least Yuta knew the important things.

Strawberries, tiramisu, black, white, piano, guitar, swimming, his dogs Figure and Penny, the books he liked.

“Who’s Destiny?” asked Winwin in his slow, deep voice, words curling slightly at the edges.

“My soulmate, apparently.”

“Won’t you eventually find your soulmate without having to go looking for them?”

“There’s always a chance that I never find them, they seem to be very far. That’s why I’m going to go find them, instead of waiting for _Destiny_ to bring us together.” Yuta slid a few maps into his bag. You never knew what might happen to your phone.

“It’s also,” he continued in a slower pace. “It’s also a bit of a tradition, I guess. My sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother...”

“The women of your family don't like to wait around, it seems.”

“No,” he agreed.

“I wasn’t aware that you were a woman,” Winwin’s voice was tinged with amusement.

Yuta paused as he realized that he’d let himself be played. “No,” he laughed. “I’m not a woman.” He checked if everything was packed, then zipped up his bag.

“Any words of wisdom for me?” he asked, sitting down on his bed. “I’m a little scared.”

“Of what?”

“I’m setting off for who knows where, to find someone who’s only a promise. I have no idea what to expect.”

“You’ll be fine,” Winwin consoled. “Whoever is at the other end, they’re waiting to find you too, and they’ll welcome you with open arms. That’s why you two are connected after all.”

It was a comforting thought, that someone was waiting for him.

“Thanks,” he said softly.

“Keep in touch, I want to stay updated on what happens.”

“Of course.”

“Good luck.”


	2. Iced Pink

Yuta got off the plane with an undeniable air of relief. It had only been a two and a half hour flight, but he’d been sitting next to a grouchy woman and her screaming child, and while he did not necessarily dislike children, he didn’t really prefer having one screech in his ear for the entirety of a flight.

 _Winwin likes babies_.

He let the thought waft away as he watched people hurry around, talking on their phones, reuniting, parting ways. Phrases of a language he didn’t know were being thrown around carelessly as he stood alone in a rush of life.

He was starting to get a headache, he felt lost and very far from home.

He was thrilled.

His string had moved continuously throughout the entire flight, and now as he checked it with the compass, it pointed Southeast.

He'd come to the right place.

He shouldered his bag and wandered through the airport, wondering what to do next. The airport was glossy and posh, with high, airy ceilings criss crossed with windows that let sunlight trickle through, making lemon coloured squares on the ground.

He paused at a small cafe and bought himself a pink lemonade. Sitting down, he messaged his sister, telling her about the string and flight.

Then he called Winwin.

He watched tiny drops of condensation form on the glass, looking like it had frozen over. A thin slice of lemon perched on the rim of the glass and sunlight seeped through it, like a tiny stained glass window.

“Arrived safely?” asked Winwin. He sounded a little sleepy, as if he’d just woken up.

“No, my plane crashed and I died,” Yuta sipped the lemonade. “Did I wake you up?”

“I was getting up any-” he broke off.

“What is it?”

“My string moved,” he said, mild surprise laced in his voice. “What a coincidence.”

“Looks like your partner is going on a vacation,” Yuta leaned back.

There was a pause. “I suppose.”

“Where does it point?” asked Yuta.

“I can’t tell right now, but it’s usually to the north. They’re very far, it’s never moved much.”

Yuta pulled up a mental image of South Korea, then the north of it.

“If they’re out of country, then they’re Russian,” he said.

There was a moment of confused silence, then Winwin laughed. “Right.”

“What’s so funny?” asked Yuta.

“Nothing, nothing. What will you do now?”

“Go Southeast, I suppose. Near the coast, I think.”

Winwin hummed in agreement. “So, how was your flight?”

“There was a very angry lady and her even angrier baby,” Yuta scrunched up his nose. “Baby pulled my hair, it’s all messed up now.”

Winwin laughed. “How cute.”

“Me or the baby?”

Winwin hesitated.

"The baby."

"Ah..."

There was a pause.

“Well, I should probably get moving now,” said Yuta finally. Winwin wished him luck and hung up. He finished his lemonade and pulled out his map of eastern China. He spread it out over the table and traced a line from Hangzhou to the southeast.

He pulled out a pen and wrote the names “Wenzhou” and “Taizhou” on his wrist in Japanese characters. Then he copied down the Chinese characters the best he could.

He checked his compass again and left.

He exited the airport and flagged a taxi. Leaning closer to the front window, he showed the driver the top name on his arm. Taizhou.

The driver said something to him in Chinese, most of which he didn’t understand at all. Before leaving Japan, he had borrowed a book on learning phrases for tourism in China, but there was only so much you could learn in a day. All he understood was “take you there”.

This sounded optimistic, so he got in, thanking the driver in Chinese.

They drove for a short while, then the car stopped. Yuta sat up, surprised, looking around at their surroundings. They had left most of the main city behind, but they were nowhere near a new one.

He got out, trying to understand where the driver had brought him.

He pulled out his phone and attempted to translate Japanese into Mandarin. He asked the driver where he had brought him (at least, that’s what he hoped he had asked).

The driver didn’t seem to like this. He scolded Yuta for whatever mistake he seemed to have made, then demanded his payment.

That, at least, Yuta understood. Giving up, he handed over the money. He had asked the driver the take him to Taizhou, and he must have brought him at least somewhere that would help him get there.

The taxi drove off, a cloud of dust huffing in his face.

He looked around himself, lost.

_What now?_

It seemed like he was at the cusp of a highway. There was a signboard next to him. He examined it carefully, then raised his arm to compare the words.

He recognised one the names. Taizhou. Two hundred and seventy five kilometres.

_Eh... does he want me to walk three hundred kilometres?_

There didn’t seem to be any other way at the moment. Maybe someone would give him a ride. He remembered his mother telling him that she’d met his father while hitchhiking across Japan.

So he just started walking. Everything was soaked in a thick, orange light from the setting sun. He wondered if he should go back and try again the next day.

He thought of his sister and how she would seize his collar and drag him along, telling about the importance of taking chances when they presented themselves or whatever.

He kept walking.

He must have been have going on for at least half an hour when a rusty blue pickup truck stopped next to him. The driver rolled down the window and called something to him.

Hoping he wasn’t being catcalled, Yuta inched closer to the truck.

The driver seemed to realize that he was a foreigner and simply jerked a thumb to the back of the truck and made a driving motion with his hand.

Excited, Yuta held up his wrist and pointed to the name Taizhou.

The driver nodded.

He threw his bag onto the back of the truck and clambered on, repeatedly thanking the driver.

He drove fast, the tired old pickup rattling and jostling around. Yuta’s hair whipped around his face as he watched the string on his wrist slowly moving.

He clutched the compass tightly as the sun slowly extinguished itself behind the mountains.


	3. Bruised Purple

Yuta jolted awake as the truck rumbled to a stop, still clutching the compass in his hand.

_When did I fall asleep?_

The truck had stopped on the side of a narrower road than the one he remembered, and there wasn’t a single car in sight. It dark, and there were tall, shadowed trees on either side of the road, blocking out everything else.

The car door slammed as the driver got out.

Yuta was in danger.

Grabbing his bag, he scrambled to his feet as the driver climbed onto the back of the truck.

He was a large figure, tall and heavyset. He could probably break Yuta in half with ease.

The man snapped something harshly, pointing to Yuta's bag. He shook his head frantically and held onto to it tightly.

The man took a threatening step forward and Yuta’s mind went into autopilot.

He threw himself off the truck, almost breaking his ankle and running like hell, swinging the bag onto his shoulder. There was a shout from behind but he didn’t waste a second looking back.

He didn’t get far before a hand seized his collar, dragging him back several feet before throwing him on the ground. A heavy boot slammed down on his stomach so hard that he couldn’t even find the air to scream. The bag was torn away from him.

His attacker pinned him down as he thrashed, trying to get away. There was a soft click and a gleaming knife flashed in front of his face.

He went still.

The man slashed down at his thigh, cutting his pocket open and his phone spilled out. He cut the other one and pulled out a wallet.

He collected the phone, wallet and bag and got up. As Yuta struggled to get to his feet, something crashed into his head from the side. He collapsed as an explosion of stars flashed in front of his eyes.

As he closed his eyes tightly, trying to stop the world from spinning, he heard the truck drive away.

“Wait...” he gasped weakly. “No, no, no, _please_...”

He was alone.

He dragged himself to the side of the road and took account of his injuries. A large, shoe shaped bruise was forming on his stomach, the colour of the ragged purple sky. His thighs had been slightly grazed where the knife had cut his jeans open. His ankle ached badly.

He touched his forehead gingerly. It wasn’t bleeding, thankfully, but a large lump was forming. 

Other than the compass in his hand, he had lost everything. He had no way of contacting anyone, finding his way anywhere, paying for anything, or getting back home.

_What do I do?_

_Contact an embassy?_

He still felt dizzy. It was getting hard to think clearly. He just wanted to lie down and die.

He struggled to his feet, swaying slightly.

There was the sound of an engine, then a car rounded a corner and came into sight.

Yuta held up an arm to shield his eyes from the harsh headlights of the car.

The car stopped in front of him, and the door opened.

He staggered back, panicking. He didn’t have anything to give except his life and his compass.

He didn’t intend to lose either of them.

A figure climbed out of the car, calling something out to him. All Yuta could see was a dark silhouette coming towards him.

“Stay back!” he snapped. “Stay away from me!”

The other person stopped as the headlights snapped off. Yuta slowly lowered his arm, spots dancing in front of his eyes. He still couldn’t see anything.

Someone touched his arm and he jumped back, spouting a stream of curses in both languages he knew.

“Oh, you know Korean,” said a voice next to him pleasantly. “That’s good.”

Yuta squinted at the person warily. He was young, about the same age as Yuta, with a kind smile and slightly worried expression.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly.

“I got mugged,” Yuta said quietly, so relieved at finding someone who spoke the same language as him that he forgot to be scared. “They took everything I had.” Another door opened and small boy peered out curiously.

“Oh, you poor thing. Are you alone?”

Yuta considered lying and telling him there were several more people with him, but this guy looked trustworthy.

He nodded.

“Will you come with us?” the other guy asked gently. “We can take you to the city and get you help. It’s only an hour away now.”

He nodded again, wearily.

His new companion took his arm and led him to the car, where the smaller boy was watching them curiously. He got chided softly, probably for staring, and sulked back into the car.

Yuta got into the back seat, curling up in an attempt to stay warm. The other guy got in behind the wheel and turned up the heating. Yuta rested his head against the window, watching lights shoot by in blurry streaks.

He was tired.

He wanted to go home.


	4. Mint Turquoise

“I'm Kun,” the driver offered, glancing at Yuta in the rear-view mirror.

“Yuta.”

“I’m Chenle.” The boy in the passenger seat turned around and regarded his new travelling companion with interest. His hair was a faded mint, and his fuzzy sweater was turquoise. He looked ridiculously cuddly.

“Where are you from?” he asked.

“Japan.”

“Don’t bother the poor guy, Chenle," said Kun.

“I don’t mind,” said Yuta. Chenle seemed to like that.

“Tokyo?” he asked, twisting around to face him properly.

“Osaka.”

“Are you here as a tourist?”

“I’m looking for my soulmate, actually.”

Chenle’s face lit up with interest. “I always wanted to go find my soulmate. It seems like fun.”

“Well, it’s what I’m doing right now, and look at where I ended up.”

Chenle ran an eye over him. “You look pretty damaged,” he admitted.

An apt description.

A thought seemed to occur to Kun. “Do you want to call anyone?”

“Can I?”

“Of course. Chenle, give him my phone.”

Chenle handed over a phone.

Yuta took it, wondering who to call.

Not his mother, she’d get upset and tell him to come back immediately. His sister would probably say the opposite, get mad at him for not beating up his attacker and tell him not to ride in a stranger’s car.

So he called Winwin.

“How are things going?” Winwin asked upon identifying the caller.

Yuta sighed. “Bad.”

This seemed to surprise Winwin. “You aren’t getting closer?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I got mugged.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you call the police or some-”

“Took my phone.”

“What are you calling me with then?”

“Some stranger decided I looked like a rat dragged through a bush and took pity on me. They’re taking me to the city now.” Yuta leaned his head against the window.

“Is it safe?”

“I trust them.”

Winwin sighed. “Don’t you trust too much?”

“Maybe I do. I trusted my sister when she said it was good idea to try this in the first place. I should have left to this to the women, I bet my younger sister could do much better.”

“You want to stop?”

He looked down at his wrist. The string was still moving, so slowly.

“I’ll have to, won’t I? I lost my phone, money, passport... They’ll probably just take me to an embassy and they’ll send me straight back.”

“You can’t stop now!”

Winwin's little outburst took Yuta by surprise. He was usually so calm.

“Why... why not? It doesn’t affect you.”

“Of course, I just um... I just thought you were close and you’d be disappointed going back.”

“It’s not like I can do much else.”

“I suppose.”

There was a pause.

“Good luck with the rest of your journey, then.” Winwin sounded a little sad. Yuta heart felt heavy.

“I feel like a failure,” he said quietly. “I messed up so bad.”

“Everyone messes up, Yuta. I once accidentally got a frog stuck in a chocolate fountain and then it exploded.”

A laugh stuttered out of Yuta. His stomach twinged in pain. “How do you even-”

“That’s a story for another day. Goodbye for now, take care of yourself. I’m sending you lots of hugs.”

“I didn’t think you liked hugs.”

“I hate them, I’m making an exception since you sound sad. Goodbye now.”

“Goodbye, I love y-”

_What?_

Winwin seemed to have the same question. “What were you-”

“Bye,” Yuta hung up. His cheeks felt warm. He handed the phone back numbly.

“Should you really be talking your girlfriend when you’re looking for your soulmate?” asked Chenle. Kun looked scandalized at this question.

“Chenle-”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Yuta said calmly. “I don’t have a boyfriend either, I was talking to my friend.”

“Your voice was all moony and-”

“Chenle!”

“That’s my normal voice,” said Yuta as he noticed Kun's flustered expression.

“Please don’t mind him,” said Kun. “He says silly things sometimes.”

_“Hey!”_

“Your son is very cute,” Yuta offered. Chenle laughed so hard that Yuta couldn’t help but smile.

“I like this guy,” Chenle said to Kun. He turned back to Yuta. “You have a very pretty smile.”

Yuta heard that a lot, but he found himself smiling again. “Thanks.”

Chenle turned serious again. “Will you stop looking for your soulmate?”

“I’ll probably have to. I was close too...”

Chenle looked dismayed. “Can’t you wait before going to the embassy?”

“I don’t have any money to travel.”

“We could give you some,” Chenle said excitedly. “You could find your soulmate and then go back.”

“That’s very kind, but I’ll-”

“No, you have to!” he leaned forward and grabbed Yuta’s hand. Yuta flinched, then realized that Chenle was writing something on his palm with a marker. It was a number.

He blew on it to dry, then let go of Yuta. “You’ll call me when you’re done, then tell me how it went. I'm going to go find my soulmate on my eighteenth birthday next month, but I can’t do it if you can’t.”

Yuta stared at this fuzzy mint boy, feeling strangely inspired. “Well,” he said slowly. “I suppose my mind is made up for me then.”

He saw Kun smile at him from the mirror. “That’s just how he is.”

And that was just how it was. When they reached the city, Kun treated his injuries and gave him a map, and Chenle pressed a wad of money and promises of friendship into his hand

Then they parted ways, and Yuta went back to his quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lele baby


	5. Sigh Blue

The string was pointing Southwest again.

He considered just walking and walking until it pointed to right place, but he was exhausted.

He had to find a place to stay.

He walked around, asking and searching, until eventually, he reached a small, dingy looking building that looked like it might offer some sort of shelter. It didn’t look like much, but he was tired and didn’t want to go further.

He went in.

The inside was even worse. It was dimly lit, with a mouldy carpet and a damp smell lingering around. The girl at the desk was watching a football game with a detached interest.

She turned her eyes towards him and scowled, as if his presence was a bother for her.

He opened his mouth to ask her a question when someone thundered downstairs. They both turned to see another boy, his hair a wild shade of red. One of his eyebrows had a slit in it.

He looked terrifying.

The boy turned his hard eyes on Yuta and he had to physically stop himself from taking a step back.

“Are you staying here?” he asked sharply in Korean.

“I’m about to,” he replied, startled.

“Don’t,” he turned to the girl and argued with her in a mix of Mandarin and Korean for a while, then gave up and turned to face Yuta. “Let’s get out of this hellhole.”

“What?”

He boy grabbed his arm and dragged him out. “Did you see the state of the lobby? The rooms are so, so much worse. There was mould and there were stains on the sheets and something was rotting on the floor...”

He fixed a cold glare on Yuta. “You should thank me before you lost your money in there. I bet there was dead body in the cupboard.”

“Thank... thank you?”

The other boy’s face melted into a sweet smile, his eyes becoming suddenly softer. He held out his hand. “I’m Taeyong.”

He hesitated, then took it. “I’m Yuta.”

“Japanese?”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s your bag?” Taeyong shouldered his own. “Does someone else have it?”

“Yeah, actually. It got stolen.”

Taeyong’s lips parted, his eyes widening in sympathy. “Sorry about that. Is that how you got your bruise?”

Yuta nodded.

“Should we look for a place to stay together?” asked Taeyong shyly. Yuta smiled at him, which seemed to make him even shyer.

_How did I think he’s scary? This guy’s adorable._

“Sure,” said Yuta. “Let’s go.”

They walked through the city together, exchanging talk. Yuta learned that Taeyong was also looking for his soulmate, but it was giving him a ridiculously hard time.

“The string keeps moving around!” he complained. “By itself! Wherever I go, it starts pointing somewhere completely different.”

“Maybe your soulmate is looking for you too,” Yuta suggested.

“Well can they please stop!”

Yuta couldn’t help but laugh, then bent over slightly in pain.

Everywhere they went was either full, filthy, or too expensive. Yuta quickly learnt that Taeyong was a bit of a clean freak and refused to sleep in a few places that Yuta might have actually just stayed.

But he didn’t want to lose his new companion, so he didn’t object.

In the end, they just ended up in a park, sitting on a bench.

“I’m tired,” Yuta mumbled softly. “I’m just going to go to sleep here.”

Taeyong took Yuta’s legs and let him stretch them over his lap. Yuta leant back and draped an arm over his eyes.

He heard Taeyong rummaging through his bag for a moment, then a jacket was draped over him.

Yuta woke up early.

The birds were causing a cacophony somewhere, but he couldn’t see them. The air was chilly and he was grateful for the extra jacket.

Then he realized that Taeyong was sleeping on his chest.

Hoping he hadn’t disturbed him, Yuta lay still, gazing at the pale blue sky. It was a faded, tired colour. The park was mostly empty.

Taeyong shifted, elbowing Yuta in the stomach. A small groan of pain escaped his mouth, which made Taeyong wake up.

He squinted blearily at Yuta for a moment, then seemed to remember who he was and where they were.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Yuta sat up as well, wrapping the jacket around himself. Taeyong’s body heat had been keeping him warm, and now he was missing it.

“Sleep well?” he asked Taeyong.

Taeyong didn’t reply, probably because he was still sleeping. Yuta nudged him gently and his head snapped up.

“M’wake,” he mumbled.

They cleaned up with some wipes and a bottle of water, then went to a small cafe for breakfast.

“So, where will you go now?” asked Taeyong as he took a bite out of some deep fried dough stick.

Yuta took the compass out of his pocket and placed it on the table, open. He held his wrist out in front of it. The whole time they had wandered in the city, it had stubbornly pointed Southwest. He was close, but not close enough.

“I’ll go to the nearest city to the southwest now,” he replied. “Hopefully, it’ll be my last stop.” He looked up at Taeyong. “What about you?”

Taeyong held out his wrist too. His brow furrowed. “They travelled overnight.”

Yuta waited. Taeyong sighed. “I think I’ll just go back and let them find me. This is really just becoming a pointless chase.”

Yuta made a face. “You’re not upset?”

“Hey, I’ll end up meeting them anyway if they’re looking for me. I had a fun trip. And I made a friend.”

Yuta tilted his head, curious. “Who?”

Taeyong looked offended.

 _Oh_.

He let out an embarrassed laugh.

“Right,” he mumbled shyly. “Thank you. We should keep in touch,” he offered.

Taeyong’s face lit up. He rummaged through his bag for a moment then pulled out a permanent marker.

He scrawled his number on Yuta’s palm, then leant back, satisfied with his work. “I wonder what your soulmate will think of all these numbers,” he laughed.

“I look like a complete mess,” Yuta sighed. “They’ll probably call the police on me.”

Taeyong regarded him for a moment. “Maybe we could make you look better before you get there,” he offered.

“How so?”

“Dye your hair.”

Yuta laughed, then realized he was being serious. “What? No way.”

“Yes way!” Taeyong leant forward. “It’ll look fresh and cute.”

“A fresh _disaster_.”

“Oh come on!” he pleaded. “It’ll surprise them!”

“My being there will surprise them! They’ve never even seen me!”

“What if they have?”

This was a vaguely unsettling thought.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he snapped.

Taeyong laughed.

“And I’m not dyeing my hair.”

He pouted. Leaning forward, he clasped Yuta’s hand in both of his own and rested his chin on them, his eyes large and pleading. “It’ll be fun.”

 _Oh, what the hell_. His roots were starting to show, and his hair colour was fading.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Maybe it’ll be a good idea.”


	6. Ocean Purple

It was a terrible idea.

He stared at himself in utter horror as Taeyong paid the hairdresser and came over. He held Yuta by the shoulders and smiled at him in the mirror.

“Isn’t it so pretty?” he asked happily.

“What the hell did you _do_ to it?”

“I got it dyed, that was our agreement.”

“Yes, but...” he pulled at the strands, at a loss for words. “I thought, I don’t know! Light brown? Not _this_.”

“ _This_ ” in question was a light greyish shade of purple, which the faintest glimmers of sea blue in it.

“But you look so nice,” Taeyong fluffed up his hair calmly. “It suits you very well.”

Yuta closed his eyes, then opened them again.

It was still purple.

“Don’t you like it?” Taeyong asked, a little sad.

Yuta sighed. It was a pretty colour, he had to admit, he didn’t look bad. It was just so... different. 

“It’s nice,” he said.

Taeyong seemed satisfied. “It’ll take a while to used to it, but I can assure you that you look fabulous.”

“Thanks...?”

“Let’s go.” Taeyong took his arm and led him back out. Yuta couldn’t help but feel like people were staring at him, even though he was certain it was a ridiculous thought.

Taeyong leaned back against a streetlight, folding his arms and scrutinizing Yuta appreciatively.

“So,” he started. “Southwest, is it?”

Yuta nodded. He pulled out the map Kun had given him and held out flat for the both of them to see.

They leant over it, purple and red hair mingling.

“Wenzhou,” Taeyong said. “That’s your best bet.”

Yuta folded his map and put it away. “Do you know how to get there?”

“Train,” he said simply.

There was a pause.

“Do you, uh... know how to get there?”

Taeyong laughed. “You really have no experience with travel, do you?”

“I also don’t have a phone to help me find my way,” Yuta argued. Taeyong shook his head, smiling.

“Come on." He took Yuta’s arm. “I’ll take you there.”

He took Yuta to the train station, where they figured out which train would go the Wenzhou.

They faced each other, suddenly realizing that this was goodbye.

“Well,” Taeyong said at last. “This is it.”

Yuta shook his hand again and glanced at the slightly smudged numbers on his palm. “We’ll be in touch.”

Taeyong suddenly hugged them, then let go. “Call me when you find them, okay?”

“I will,” Yuta promised.

And then Taeyong was gone.

Yuta stood still for a moment, wondering how he gotten so attached to this strange boy, who had appeared and disappeared from his life so suddenly.

Shaking himself, he turned towards the train, pulling his jacket closer.

His jacket?

_I forgot to give Taeyong his jacket back!_

Yuta turned and bolted towards where he had gone. He frantically searched for Taeyong’s bright red head, among the people in the crowd, but to no avail. He looked for a while, then finally returned to the station, still with the jacket.

Then he realized that he’d missed the train.

He exhaled slowly.

 _This is fine_ , he told himself. _Just take the next train._

Walking over to the board, he ran a finger down it, trying to figure out when the next one would come.

Twenty minutes.

He sighed and wandered away, waiting. There were a few small shops around, and a newspaper stand in front of one. Absently, he gazed the newspaper, trying to read the numbers at the top.

October 28th.

 _It’s Winwin’s birthday_ , he realized.

Looking around, he spotted a small booth with a payphone in it.

“Happy birthday,” he said into the phone when Winwin answered.

There was a moment of confused silence.

“Yuta?”

“Yep.”

“Yuta!” he sounded delighted. “Where are you?”

Hearing Winwin’s voice eased a little bit of the tension in his chest. He sat down on the floor of the booth.

“A train station in Taizhou. I'm going to a city called Wenzhou.”

There was a small, surprised “oh”.

“I also dyed my hair,” Yuta added, to fill in the silence.

“What?”

“I met a stranger who saved me from finding a dead body and I accidentally stole his jacket. He made me dye my hair.”

“What?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does it look nice?”

“Apparently. How was your day?”

Winwin paused, then told him about how his birthday was going.

In the middle, a polite female voice cut off the call to tell him something in Chinese. He pulled a coin out of his back pocket and put it in.

“... and then someone blew a popper in my ear which I really didn’t like and now there’s confetti everywhere in my hair! I’m very glittery now.”

Yuta closed his eyes, listening to Winwin’s soothing voice ramble on and on, until twenty minutes were almost up.

“I have to go now, my train is almost here.”

“Aw. Bye then.”

Yuta started to get up, then stopped. “Wait,”

“Hm?”

“Has your string moved any more?”

There was a pause.

“You’re getting late. Bye, take care!”

“Wa-”

The call disconnected.


	7. Dusky Golden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy

The string was moving.

Yuta’s heart surged with excitement as he watched it slowly pull sideways, even though the train was going in a straight line. As the train came closer to it’s destination, it moved faster.

 _I’m coming_.

When the train stopped, Yuta was the first one out, almost knocking over an elderly lady.

He called an apology over his shoulder as he dashed out of the station.

Wenzhou was a large, bustling city bordered by looming blue mountains in the back and filled with massive skyscrapers.

He looked down at his wrist again.

Left.

He stood still for a moment, contemplating whether to take a bus or just walk.

He decided he had to walk, since the string could lead to anywhere that a bus wouldn’t necessarily follow.

 _Make your own paths, I suppose_.

He started walking, following the string. He crossed some roads and followed the others, he dodged some cars and chased the others, slowly winding through the incessant rush of life going around him. He walked around buildings and pounded in frustration on the walls of those which blocked his way.

Too slow, too slow.

He broke into a run, then slowed down again.

The sun was already sinking, impatient. Lights started to flicker on.

Yuta missed the exact moment when the sun vanished in a fiasco of pinks, purples, blues and oranges. When he looked back up, the sky was a deep, warm blue, with a pale streak of golden brushed across the horizon. Stars and streetlights were illuminating, cars were shooting by in whirrs of bright light.

And still he went forward.

He had reached a residential area now, and was winding through streets of tidy, polite houses.

As he walked down a long street, the string quickly started to move left, slowly becoming parallel to his path.

He was almost there.

_He was almost there._

He broke into a run.

He ran until the string pointed to sharp ninety degrees angle to his left, then skidded to a halt. in front of a house.

Slowly, he went to the front gate and peered in, nervous.

It was normal looking house, with a tidy garden, a few flowerpots in the front.

_Is this it?_

Hesitantly, he rang the bell. Somewhere in the house, two dogs started barking.

He thought of his own poodle Rapunzel, and suddenly felt a pang of homesickness.

Then a lady opened the door.

They both regarded each other for a moment, startled, then, she being the more startled, she snapped something to him and started to close the door.

Alarmed, Yuta reached out to stop her.

The door slammed down on his hand. 

He cried out in pain and staggered back, away from the angry lady. His eyes watered. Crouching down, he cradled his hand.

The lady paused, the door half closed. She regarded him with suspicion, then a little bit of pity. She asked him something he didn’t understand.

He was so sick of not understanding.

He stood back up and held up his hand, ignoring the pain. He tapped his wrist.

Thankfully, she understood immediately.

He sat alone in the lounge of the house, feeling ridiculously out of place and awkward. Everything else was neat, every object placed exactly why and where it should be, everything tasteful and elegant. Then there was him, scruffy and battered, too bright, too messy.

The lady came back with a pretty girl trailing behind her, presumably her daughter. He got to his feet, and they eyed each other, uncertain.

There was a thick moment of nothing.

He held out his hand, palm upward. She stretched out her own, palm down, over his.

Nothing.

His string pointed to the side. Turning his head, his eyes followed it’s direction.

The stairs.

He pointed silently at them. The girl looked immensely relieved.

She and her mother had a brief discussion, then the girl ran upstairs. A brief moment later, he heard footsteps on the stairs and a boy came downstairs.

He was slim, a little taller than Yuta, uncertain eyes. The tips of his ears were slightly pointed and there was glitter in his hair.

He reminded Yuta of a fairy.

He came over to Yuta, who numbly held out his hand. The other boy held his out too, parallel to Yuta’s.

His string was pointing straight at the boy.

Slowly, he moved his hand closer, almost touching.

Then the strings connected.

One moment there was just Yuta’s string, fading away into nothing, then it was looped around the boys wrist, whole.

Yuta let out a shaky breath.

The glittery boy intertwined his fingers with Yuta’s. 

“Your hair colour really compliments your bruise,” he said in an amused, surprisingly deep, familiar voice. Yuta swayed, almost fainting from shock.

It was Winwin.


	8. Scrubbed Black

“I still don’t know why you didn’t just _tell_ me!”

Winwin laughed. “I told you! What if I was wrong?”

“The string moved whenever I did, how could you possibly have been wrong?”

“Coincidences happen, Yuta. Imagine if I had told you and we hadn’t connected at the end?”

Yuta sighed.

“Anyway, it’s eleven pm, I’m going to bed.”

“Bye then.”

“Take care."

“I love you,” Yuta said.

There was a pause.

Winwin giggled shyly.

“I love you too.”

Satisfied, Yuta wished him goodnight and hung up.

He lay still for a moment, gazing outside. He could see his string stretching out as far as the eye could see, disappearing into the buildings.

After connecting with Winwin, (he later revealed his name to be Sicheng, but Yuta just called him Winwin) he had driven Yuta to the Japanese embassy in Guangzhou to get his passport. They had stayed there for a few days, getting to know each other. Winwin was two years younger than Yuta, which meant that he was only halfway through university.

So Winwin stayed in China and Yuta stayed in Japan until they both graduated, and Yuta booked a flight back home.

They both felt a little upset at parting so soon, but they promised to stay in touch and Winwin swore on every deity known and unknown that he would come visit in the winter holidays.

Yuta held up his hand. Along with the string, there were also the numbers scribbled onto his palm. They were mostly scrubbed away now, but he had them written down safely in his new phone.

He called the first one.

“Hello?” came Taeyong’s voice.

“Hello,” Yuta said happily.

Taeyong gasped. “Yuta!”

There was a pause.

“I have to tell you something!” they both exclaimed at the same time.

There was another bubbling pause as they both waited for the other to speak.

“I found him!” they both blurted in unison again. They laughed.

“You go first,” Yuta offered.

He listened to Taeyong happily babble on about his soulmate and Yuta listened patiently, knowing that he’d be able to have his turn soon.

His eye fell on his string again. Wrapping his fingers around it, he gave it three gentle tugs.

He waited.

His hand jerked slightly as the string tugged back three times.


End file.
